Various types of vascular prostheses are known or available. Commercially available synthetic vascular grafts in use are commonly made from expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE), or woven, knitted, or velour design polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or Dacron®. These prosthetic vascular grafts may have various drawbacks. When used for repairing or replacing smaller diameter arteries, these grafts may fail due to occlusion by thrombosis or kinking, or due to an anastomotic or neointimal hyperplasia (exuberant cell growth at the interface between artery and graft). Another problem may involve expansion and contraction mismatches between the host artery and the synthetic vascular prosthesis, which may result in anastomotic rupture, stimulated exuberant cell responses, and disturbed flow patterns and increased stresses leading to graft failure.
Problems also exist with the use of autologous saphenous vein grafts in these applications. Use of autologous saphenous vein grafts to bypass blockages in coronary arteries has become a well-established procedure. However, their success in the long term has been limited. In the coronary position, the literature reports a low (45-63%) patency of vein grafts after 10-12 years. It is believed that these failures result from remodeling of the implanted vein in response to greatly increased internal pressure, that is, as the vein is required to function as an artery. In general, arteries have substantial musculature and, although able to expand diametrically in response to increased internal pressure, are capable of withstanding normal arterial pressure variances. Veins, on the other hand, are not required to withstand arterial pressure variances and are relatively incapable of withstanding the higher arterial pressures without substantial bulging. In this regard, the nominal venous diameter seen under nominal venous pressure is seen to approximately double upon exposure to arterial pressure.
Increases in lumenal diameter of these magnitudes in vein segment implants are accompanied by increases in tangential stress. Tangential stress has been shown to be proportional to the lumenal radius-wall thickness ratio. In healthy arteries, this ratio remains constant across multiple species. However, this does not occur in veins. It is believed that a vein's smooth muscle cells increase their growth rate and secrete extra-cellular matrix components in response to such increases in tangential stress. This becomes a remodeling response, and is likely an attempt by the vein to reduce the lumenal radius-wall thickness ratio, and consequently the tangential stress. However, it appears that these reactions overcompensate in the veins, resulting in the phenomenon of neointimal hyperplasia yielding grossly thickened and stiff graft walls. As the dilation of the vein segment continues, the resulting mismatch between the vein and artery diameters may lead to disturbance of flow patterns, which may also favor the formation of thrombi.
Problems also exist when tubular prostheses are used as exteriorly accessible shunts to facilitate access to the circulatory system for, e.g., the administration of medicines and nourishment and for dialysis procedures.